For reasons completely incomprehensible to me, Jose Mourinho and the entire British football media, seem incapable of counting to 19. Unless I’m under an obvious misapprehension, something I’m very open to the idea of, there are currently 19 non-home-grown senior players in the Chelsea first team (not including Marko Marin), not 18, as Mourinho and several national news sources have reported. This means before we register our 25-man squad for the season, we need to sell or loan two players, not just one, in order to comply with the official Premier League quota

The following is run down of those 19 players with a view to considering who we might be looking to offload, and whom we might have no choice but to depart with before September…

Thibaut Courtois – Having finally returned from loan and looking set to start the season as #1, there’s no chance he’ll be leaving

Petr Cech – Mourinho’s made it pretty clear he’s happy to start the season with both Cech and Courtois, but his comment to Sky yesterday that he’s also happy for Mark Schwarzer to be his second choice keeper, suggests the loss of Cech wouldn’t be the end of the world, should he fail to move on any of his other less saleable assets

Mark Schwarzer – A willing back up and likely to free up a space next season when he retires, there’s very little point in looking to sell the Australian now

Branislav Ivanovic – A stalwart. A favourite of the manager and a key member of a defence which lacks depth, in terms of experience. Going nowhere.

Cesar Azpilicueta – Another huge favourite of the manager and a hugely important player given his versatility in the full back positions. He’ll obviously be staying.

Filipe Luis – A new signing and the only natural senior left back in the squad – a starter all year.

Nemanja Matic – The best defensive midfielder in the country just entering the prime of his career. He’ll be running the Chelsea midfielder for the next five years, undoubtedly.

Ramires – Real Madrid’s alleged interest in the Brazilian would suggest his reputation abroad is slightly more favourable than the one he currently holds with the Chelsea fan base. Last season his technical shortcomings were exposed continuously as he endured a dreadful run of form from January onwards. Not a likely starter but his energy and versatility make him a useful squad player – it looks very doubtful he’ll be leaving.

Mikel – Useful back up to Matic, but with the younger Oriol Romeu and Marco Van Ginkel also looking for first team places, the Nigerian looks pretty expendable at the moment.

Oriol Romeu – Very few I think weren’t surprised when the young Spaniard signed a contract extension last month. A good player but not better than Mikel, in my opinion and probably more saleable with several clubs in Spain likely to be interested. It’s possible the extension was a ploy to raise his transfer value but it seems unlikely.

Marco Van Ginkel – No longer an U21, it would be harsh to say the young Dutchman hasn’t really shown himself to be of necessary quality as of yet, given his lack of opportunities to do so. He looks a tenacious and intelligent player and has the clear backing of the coach, being selected to start in big games last season before his injury. He deserves a chance to prove his worth this year.

Oscar & Eden Hazard – The gems of the team and the faces of a post-Frank Lampard Chelsea. It’s not even worth contemplating their departure.

Willian, Mohamed Salah & Andre Schurrle – All Mourinho signings, all liable to improve and all ideal for the coach’s tactics, as selfless runners capable of pressing high up the pitch and counter attacking the bigger sides. After having a year to adapt to the PL and to top level European football, Willian could well establish himself this season as one of Europe’s best all-round playmakers.

Didier Drogba & Diego Costa – Both signed explicitly to address the extremely well documented issues the club faced last season in the striking department. Costa is the front man on which Jose is banking to lead his new side to success these coming years, while Drogba is an obvious stop gap brought back to inspire/catalyse a return to league glory in the short term.

Fernando Torres – Mourinho insists the Spaniard is going nowhere, but it’s difficult to gauge how happy he is about that. Surely no side could be crazy enough to offer him the wages he’s on at Chelsea, and having sold Lukaku, Fernando adds the necessary depth to the position it would be dangerous to rely on youngsters like Patrick Bamford to supply at this point in time.

Conclusion – As nice as the idea is of moving on Torres and replacing him with somebody like Edinson Cavani, I can’t imagine it happening and it would also do nothing to solve the problem of having too many foreign players in the team. Right now it seems a safe bet that Mikel’s days at the club are numbered, unless no buyer is forthcoming then perhaps Romeu will be on his way back to Spain instead.

With both unlikely to leave though, I don’t see any other feasible option other than to move on Petr Cech, whilst he’s still saleable and while rich clubs in France are still looking for a goalkeeper. And whilst competition for places is nice, we could perhaps do without the constant narrative, which fielding either the Czech captain or Courtois on the bench each week would inspire.

Let me know in the comment section, firstly on whether or not I’ve counted to 19 correctly, secondly who you’d prefer to see moved on and who you think will eventually leave.

What am I? A highly evolved male primate from England. A 21 year old accounting graduate. A lover of classic literature and European football. Keen blogger and essayist. Wannabe polemicist. Leftist. Humanist. Atheist. Scorpio. Always up for a debate. Gravatar: Christopher Hitchens/

21 Comments

Sherzod
August 1, 2014 at 2:36 pm

I would hate to see Cech leaving us at his prime!! Maybe we can loan Cech to Atletico Madrid and make a comparison with Courtois in EPL and Cech in La liga? I am sure that Cech will be the best GK in Spain if we do so, and even more headache for us come next season! ))) but still, will feel better just to know that he is a Chelsea player! )) We can also loan Torres and Romeu or Mikel to the same place with a buy out clause maybe??

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osiris matta
August 1, 2014 at 2:40 pm

if I had to pick 2 I would say mikel and romeu. mikel is too defensive and the game basically dies when he comes on. he's a good player but I don't think he fits in this new-look Chelsea side. He was pretty solid a few years ago when he played more but Chelsea has more pacey attacking players now. As for cech and courtois-both world class keepers and I don't see how they could both be in the same team. I prefer cech but I don't see mourinio bringing courtois back to bench him

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Fred
August 1, 2014 at 2:42 pm

I would propose either Mikel or Ramires go. Loan Romeu and Courtois to English teams.

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OLA
August 1, 2014 at 3:56 pm

If i may choose at least two, I would prefare to choose romeu and cech because romeu is not better than other players playing defensive midfield. And chelsea cannot sell mikel and leave romeu. Mikel is better in all ways than romeu, Talking of passing staminal, body mikel is all good in that. Truely mikel is better. Back to cech, we now have the youngest talented goalkeeper, and we all know that benching him is a bad idea then why not using him?

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Gbenga
August 1, 2014 at 4:28 pm

Romeu should go back on loan while chelsea should sell cech to german league

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chibueze
August 1, 2014 at 5:40 pm

as it is now i dont think jose will start using mikel not while the chelsea squad is now heavy,same as romeu he has no place in the team, mikel,romeu should go,its for their own benefit.as for cech and cortois they can be together in a team its just for jose to decide as a coach without any mistake

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alhassan hakeem
August 1, 2014 at 5:45 pm

I think Mikel is too defensive minded for this new Chelsea and may be loan Romeu as well

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@richkinwe
August 1, 2014 at 7:16 pm

I think Mikel counts as an Homegrown player which makes it 18 foreign players. If Chelsea see a good offer for Ramires or Romeu(not both), we can consider selling & bring up Jeremie Boga as replacement. Keep Cech this year & let's see how Courtois adapts to the EPL.

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Matt Clark
August 1, 2014 at 7:26 pm

Richkinwe, No Mikel doesn't count as homegrown. He turned 21 before he completed three seasons in English football.

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Xerxes
August 1, 2014 at 9:09 pm

Nice post again Matt. I think Torres should make way, but looks like this isn't happening. Mikel would be next on the list if we are holding on to Romeu for the season. Loaning Van Ginkel wouldn't be a bad idea I don't think either. The boy has huge expectations and he had only played in the Dutch league (we all know about the Dutch League). Torres is a waste of space, he has to be in the top 3 worst buys in our club's history under Roman (the other two being: 1- Ben Hai and 2- Khalid Boulahrouz).

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dennis wise
August 1, 2014 at 11:36 pm

I think our coach should sale mikel and loan romeu out and we still need cech in our team he is one of the best keeper,s in the world

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olayinka
August 2, 2014 at 12:35 am

Romeu is more robost than mikel.I think the coach should allow mikel and willian go.willian slows down the game when he is attacking.I would like to see the combination of matic and romeu inthe defensive mid-field.

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chris
August 2, 2014 at 6:26 am

for me loan van ginkel and romeu

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Femzie....Carlos
August 2, 2014 at 6:55 am

As for me, I'll prefer loaning out Romeu cos Mikel is still a far more better player dan him in terms of passing, closing players etc I'll also prefer keeping Petr and Courtouis wil do chelsea a lot of good as the season goes on.

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BlueBoy
August 3, 2014 at 8:57 am

Fabregas will count as a homegrown player.

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Matt Clark
August 3, 2014 at 11:28 am

BlueBoy, There's still 19 foreign players that I've listed

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ISAAC INWANG
August 3, 2014 at 2:41 pm

Van Ginkel is still counted as under 21 as he wouldnt turn 21 until 1st December 2014. For me, Cech is too good to sit on the bench and act as understudy to Courtois. If Mourinho wont be playing him, the right thing to do will be to sell him or loan out Romeu again.

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Matt Clark
August 3, 2014 at 3:24 pm

Isaac, Van Ginkel turns 22 in December this year. He doesn't qualify as U21

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Vijay
August 4, 2014 at 3:39 am

@ Matt,

Thibaut might qualify has a home grown. He has spent 3 years with Chelsea ( though away on loan ) before 21. However , the rules are not very clear and its not confirmed. Incase he is not HG , then I feel Schwazer or Cech will be left out of the list. It may not be Cech. However , if Cech wants to leave , then the problem is solved. PSG is rumoured for Cech and if Chelsea can get any amount around GBP 15 million , it would be a great deal. It will free up some wages as well as a slot. However , on the negative side , Chelsea cannot buy any other player to fit into the team due to the lack of space. It would be a tight one for JM. And for the first time in many seasons , Chelsea might clock in a huge profit (thanks to the player sales ). This augurs well for FFP as well as the long running health of the club. Roman has bankrolled us for over 10 years and it would be not be very correct to continue to depend on him for running the club.

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king_carlo
August 4, 2014 at 6:26 am

i think van ginkel counts as u21. he needs to be u21 at time of squad registration rather than dec31.
though i still think two players need to leave. torres surely and mikel/romeu. mikel can be very usefull in certain situations and has experience as well. torres just has to leave even if we are paying his wages. he has no confidence in box

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Matt Clark
August 4, 2014 at 4:38 pm

I can promise you guys, everyone I've listed in this article doesn't qualify as U21 or Homegrown. I've double-triple checked.
Courtois turned 22 in his third season as a Chelsea player, so doesn't qualify as HG. Van Ginkel was born in '92 and so is now classed as a senior player. He might still be legible for the Netherlands U21 team, but the PL won't recognise him as a youth player.

Vijay, I agree a Cech sale would make sense at this point. He'd free up a space (as Schwarzer surely will next year) and leave Courtois free to make the position his own. Which, personally I think would probably help him settle and perform better than having such difficult competition would.